Chinese AI startup StepFun has opened sales of the STEPX Neo, an AI agent phone where the assistant is built into the operating system instead of living inside an app. Pre-orders started on October 13 at 3,999 yuan, a little under $600, and the first sales event took place on October 16. The idea is simple to explain and hard to pull off: you tell the phone what you want done, and its agent works through the apps for you.
What Makes This AI Agent Phone Different
Most phones sold as “AI phones” today add a chatbot on top of Android or iOS. When those assistants try a multi-step task, they often have to read the screen and imitate taps, which breaks easily when a button moves. StepFun says its new Step AOS 1.0 was built for the agent from the start, using parts of Android, Linux and a real-time operating system.
The agent is called Amoo. Instead of opening a ride app, typing an address and picking a car, you ask Amoo to get you somewhere and it handles the steps. StepFun told its launch audience that in the agent era, AI is no longer an add-on to the phone but the product itself.
How Step AOS Talks to Apps
Step AOS splits phone functions like messaging, apps, files and settings into small building blocks the agent can call directly. It does this through the Model Context Protocol, or MCP, an open standard first created by Anthropic for connecting AI models to outside tools. Because the agent calls these tools directly, it does not need to simulate finger taps on the screen.
Nearly 100 companies and services have signed on, including Alipay, Tencent, Didi, Meituan and Ctrip. Payments, travel bookings and similar actions are still completed inside those partners’ own platforms. StepFun says the phone pauses for your confirmation at high-risk moments such as payments, file deletions and actions that write data across apps.
STEPX Neo Features at a Glance
Here is a quick summary of what StepFun announced for the launch edition:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Step AOS 1.0 | Agent-first operating system built from Android, Linux and real-time components |
| Amoo agent | Carries out tasks across apps from a single request |
| Two memory systems | One stores your facts and habits, the other stores what the agent learns about tasks |
| Split processing | Simple commands run on a small on-device model, some offline; harder jobs go to the cloud |
| Rear MiniLED screen | Shows what the agent is doing, such as thinking or calling a tool |
| Token bundle | 12 months of AI usage included in the 3,999 yuan price |
You still get a familiar app grid, so the phone does not force you to use the agent for everything. The agent has its own separate space next to the regular home screen.
Who Is Behind StepFun
StepFun was founded in 2023 by Jiang Daxin, a former Microsoft vice president, and counts Tencent among its backers. The company builds its own large language models, and its flagship Step 5 Preview arrived in September with 600 billion total parameters. We covered its recent open model release earlier today.
The phone is a bet that owning both the model and the device gives StepFun an edge. Rivals in China have shown similar agent phones, but StepFun appears to be the first to open pre-orders and commit to a real sales date.
Open Questions About the AI Agent Phone
The launch leaves several things unanswered, and they matter for anyone curious about agent-run devices:
- Cost after year one: StepFun has not said what AI usage will cost once the bundled 12 months run out.
- Security: MCP has drawn warnings from security groups in 2026 about weak access controls and tool poisoning, where a bad tool hides instructions for the agent.
- Independent checks: no outside security audit of Step AOS had been published at launch, and privacy promises like removing personal details before cloud upload are company claims.
- Availability: there is no announced release outside China, and the partner apps are Chinese services.
The takeaway: building the agent into the operating system can make it faster and more reliable, but it also gives the agent deeper reach into your messages, money and location. That trade-off will shape how much people trust these devices.
What This Means for You
You probably cannot buy a STEPX Neo in the US, but the phone is a preview of where mobile AI is heading. Apple and Google are both pushing assistants that act across apps, from Siri’s next steps to Gemini features on Android.
- Expect more phones that act for you, not just answer questions.
- Check which actions an agent can take without asking, especially payments and deleting files.
- Watch the pricing model, since agent features may come with ongoing usage costs.
- Look for independent security reviews before trusting any agent with sensitive accounts.
If you want to try agent tools today, browse our AI agent tools list, and read how companies are trying to keep agents contained with an agent sandbox approach. On-device options are also improving, like the small on-device model from Liquid AI. For more daily updates, visit our AI news page.
Sources
This article is based on reporting from Decrypt and a detailed review of the launch from Tech Times.
Conclusion
StepFun’s STEPX Neo is one of the first phones you can actually order where an AI agent sits at the center of the system instead of in an app. It promises to handle rides, payments and messages from a single request, backed by nearly 100 partner services. Big questions remain about long-term costs, security and data handling, and the phone is only for China for now. Still, it shows clearly where smartphone makers want to go next. Keep an eye on how Apple and Google respond as agent-first phones move from demos to store shelves.
